It looks like today’s Cabinet will only be the first of two meetings this week. I understand that another one, which may well make an actual decision, is now likely to be held later in the week.
Today’s was significant for an intervention from Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general. Cox’s contribution was about balancing risks. He, I am told, did say that Northern Ireland would be under various, different regulations under the current proposals. But he said that a unilateral withdrawal mechanism—which a large number of Cabinet ministers again backed—wouldn’t be a panacea to all the UK’s problems in the Brexit talks.
I am informed that Cox said even a unilateral mechanism would require another body to rule that the talks had broken down and so the UK could exercise its unilateral right. He also said that a mutual consent clause wouldn’t provide the EU with an effective veto.
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